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The God Profusion

Europe’s churches are empty—but don’t take that as a sign of reason’s triumph. More than half of Icelanders believe in elves and trolls.

By

Naomi Schaefer Riley

Jan. 3, 2016 4:57 p.m. ET

God is not dead. Despite the predictions of academics and liberal religious leaders, the world is becoming more faith-filled, not less. According to Rodney Stark, the co-director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, there has been no rise of the “nones”—no increase in the number of the world’s self-professed atheists and no triumph of reason over revelation.

One of Mr. Stark’s targets in “The Triumph of Faith” is certain modern polling firms, including the Pew Survey, that routinely announce a significant...